


Tradition

by totallyrhettro



Category: Rhett and Link, rhink - Fandom
Genre: Basketball, Fluff, Happy endings guaranteed, High School, Letter Jacket, Letterman's Jacket, M/M, Misunderstandings, becoming boyfriends, high school traditions, rhink
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-09
Updated: 2018-07-09
Packaged: 2019-06-07 22:32:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15229368
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/totallyrhettro/pseuds/totallyrhettro
Summary: It all seemed so innocent, Rhett giving Link his jacket, but when Link learns that there might be other connotations attached, he starts to think maybe there was more to that simple gesture.





	Tradition

The score was tied, the other team matching Buies Creek Trojans point for point. The cheerleaders from both sides kept the crowd going with every cheer, but no one cheered with more enthusiasm than Link Neal. It wasn’t that he was a huge basketball fan, but his best friend of ten plus years, Rhett McLaughlin, was one of the star players. Link didn’t come for the game, he came, and cheered, for Rhett.

“Yeah! Go Rhett!” His hollars probably wouldn’t be heard by anyone over the excited crowd, but Link didn’t care. His voice would probably be sore for days from his yelling, but that didn’t matter. This was the first game of the season and he, along with everyone else, was feeling the rush of the big game. The game was tight, the night was young, and the crowd was loving every minute of it.

The year was 1995, Rhett and Link were finally seniors, and while Rhett was fairly well known as ‘that really tall kid on the basketball team’, Link was usually known as ‘that really tall kid on the basketball team’s friend’. He didn’t mind. In this school, there were worse things to be known as. After all, he _was_ that really tall kid’s friend, and he wouldn’t have it any other way. He was also about to become the friend of the game’s winning shot.

The clock ticked down fast, the opposing team was up by two points, and Rhett had the ball. His long legs could cross the court in seconds, but he was being blocked at every turn. The other team wasn’t giving him an inch, keeping him stuck at half court. He had to shoot, time was running out, and the entire crowd was on their feet. He dodged right, he dodged left, blocked, ducked, swerved, and then-

A hush fell over the gymnasium as the ball left Rhett’s hands, the rough, orange surface parting from his fingertips just seconds before the buzzer rang out to signal the end of the game. All eyes watched the ball flying through the air, knowing the fate of the game depended on this throw. It soared high, it looked good..

 _Swish!_ The cheer that filled the room was deafening. A three point throw from nearly half court and Rhett had scored enough points to take the lead; the Trojans had won the game. Arms raised out and up, Rhett ran around the court, hollering as if he had just won the super bowl. In all fairness, everyone else was cheering with much the same enthusiasm, hugging one another and high-fiving like mad. A few of Rhett’s teammates gave him a big hug, lifting his six and a half foot, lanky form off the ground in gratitude, while others ran to their girlfriends on the sidelines. The other team was much less thrilled but there would be no quiet for Harnett County tonight. 

As his teammates parted, giving him space and went off to share their victory with others, Rhett made a beeline straight for Link. Sweeping Link up in his big, long arms, he lifted his friend right off the ground in a big squeeze of a hug. Link held back a squeak and a blush, offering only a big grin when he felt his feet back on the ground.

“We won, Link!” Rhett crowed. Someone hollard nearby and Rhett hollard back, pumping his fist in the air. “Didja see?”

“That was a great shot, Rhett,” Link agreed, more happy that Rhett was happy than anything else. Rhett was almost red in the face from his excretion and sweaty from top to bottom, but right now he had never looked happier, or better, in Link’s opinion.

“Yeah! Three points! From the center line!” It had been an unbelievable shot and a fantastic finish. Looking up at Rhett’s face Link’s own beamed with pride. How could he not? His best friend was amazing.

~ ~ ~

It was a chilly November night in Harnett County, and it was a long walk to where Link had parked. Rhett gotten a much closer spot, having arrived early with his fellow basketball players to practice before the game, but he gladly walked with his friend to where his pickup truck sat waiting. As they walked, Rhett continued to rave on about the game, about other plays he had made, about other players both on his team and the other. Link listened on, letting Rhett talk without interruption, just enjoying the company. He did feel chilly though, shivering in his t-shirt and jeans. It had been hot in the gym, with the heat of the crowd filling the room, but now…

“You cold?” Rhett suddenly asked, seeing his friend shudder against the wind. Link nodded with a shrug. He didn’t want to admit defeat, but there was no hiding the fact that he was rather freezing. Slipping off his red letterman’s jacket, Rhett draped it over Link’s shoulders without a second thought, and immediately Link felt warmer. Not entirely because of the jacket, of course. While his tall friend cleared his throat, looking up at the clear night sky and the stars that twinkled overhead, Link put his arms into the white, leather sleeves that were far to long for him and held the jacket closed, hiding a blush rising in his cheeks. 

“Thanks,” he managed, after a brief, quiet moment. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but he felt something rather important had just happened. Still, he shook it off as nothing more than one friend helping another. After all, the jacket did help immensely against the biting wind. “You ain’t gonna be cold?” he wondered.

“Nah.” Rhett shook his head, sticking his hands in his pockets. “I’m okay.” He was a little cold, but he could deal with it. As long as Link was warm enough.

The reached the truck in no time, it seemed, chatting a bit about this and that the rest of the way, and Link was almost sad to see it come into view. He opened the driver’s side door, ready to get in, then he had to accept the fact that he was wearing a jacket that wasn’t his to keep. 

“You keep it,” Rhett told him, as he saw Link starting to take the jacket off. “I mean, uh, you can keep it for tonight, yeah? It’s cold.” He shrugged, this time mostly to himself. “You can give it back tomorrow at school.” Rhett seemed a bit nervous, though Link couldn’t tell why. He told himself it was probably his imagination and refastened the jacket around his torso. 

“Okay, thanks,” Link replied. It wasn’t just that he was grateful to have something warm to wear on the way home; he hadn’t thought to bring a coat or swear of his own. No, there was something else in this temporary gift. Something about it being Rhett’s that touched him more than it should have. “I’ll be sure to remember it tomorrow.”

“Or, you know, whenever,” Rhett muttered, rubbing the back of his head. “I’ll, uh, I’ll see you ‘round.” With that he headed off, waving a final goodbye as he trotted back the way they came to find his own car. Link watched him go, holding the jacket tightly around him, even though he didn’t feel that cold anymore. He was more than a little curious as to why Rhett let him hold onto the jacket. It wasn’t as if Link didn’t have a heater in his car, after all, but he did appreciate the gesture even if he didn’t understand it. After a short drive home he finally concluded that Rhett was just being Rhett and there was nothing else to it.

~ ~ ~

Link wore the jacket to school the next day. It wasn’t as cold as the the night before, but definitely not warm enough to go without some kind of coat. He didn’t think much of it as he walked from the parking lot to the main building, strolling in as he always did, heading for his locker. It felt like any other day as he waved at a few friends, shouted out to some others, but he couldn’t help but sense a few eyes staring at him more than usual. Maybe they thought he had bought the jacket for himself, and bought it a few sizes too big, and now was showing off his new purchase. Maybe. 

He was opening his locker to through his backpack inside when the guy in the locker next to him smacked his shoulder with the back of his hand in greeting. It was Trent and he had a rather amused look on his face, his eyes looking over Link’s jacket with more scrutiny that Link was comfortable with.

“Hey,” he started, nodding at the jacket. “You Rhett’s girlfriend, now?” The smile that Link had worn on his face the whole morning faded instantly at the implications. He could tell that Trent was teasing him, but there was more to the accusation, there had to be.

“What?” was Link’s knee-jerk response, not sure what Trent was talking about. Inside he was desperately trying not to blush. He didn’t want to be Rhett’s girlfriend, or boyfriend, or whatever. No. Of course not. Never. Right?

“You’re wearing his letter jacket,” Trent explained, gesturing for emphasis. “Traditionally, football players give their jackets to their girlfriends so people will know they’re going together.”

“Rhett’s not a football player,” came Link’s gut response, to correct whatever Trent was trying to say. Trent, meanwhile, raised an eyebrow, amused at what Link was choosing to correct.

“But you _are_ wearing his jacket,” he pressed. “You guys dating now? I mean, it’s fine dude, whatever…” But Link was already taking off the jacket, folding it over his arm to carry it.

“I was just borrowing it,” he insisted. “I was just about to go give it back.” He didn’t want to wait and see if Trent believed him or not, slamming his locker door shut before rushing off to his first class and away from this conversation. 

Jacket in hand, and dodging looks from what felt like everyone, Link practically sprinted to home room. He wanted to give Rhett his jacket back as soon as possible and put this whole awkward morning behind him. He didn’t want to date Rhett. That was ridiculous, but more than that he didn’t want people to _think_ he was dating Rhett. He had a reputation to maintain, after all. 

His hopes were smashed though, upon entering the classroom. His best friend was already there, no surprise there, but Link stopped short at the sight of him. It wasn’t that he saw anything unusual; Rhett looked just like he always did, sitting with his long legs spread out under the desk, one arm swung around the back so he could talk to the person behind him. He wasn’t acting weird; behaving normally as he conversed endlessly about the game last night and his winning shot. No, there’s was nothing out of the ordinary at all about what Link saw, but he was stunned nonetheless. 

Rhett was wearing a hoodie.

Again, this wasn’t odd in any sense, but Link had been certain that Trent had been all wrong about Rhett’s intentions in giving Link his letterman’s jacket, and if Rhett was wearing that hoodie that meant he knew he wouldn’t be needed his jacket back. Link gathered his senses, not wanting to loiter in the doorway and draw anymore attention to himself than he had to, and quickly took his seat besides Rhett’s.

“Here’s your jacket back,” he told Rhett, handing it out to him. He turned to face Link, leaving the conversation with the guy bending him rather abruptly, then looked down at the jacket in question. If Link didn't know any better he would have sworn that Rhett looked rather disappointed. 

“Something wrong with it?” he asked, checking it over.

“No, I was just returning it.” Did Rhett think he’d ruined it? “I didn’t spill anything on it.”

“Oh, uh, okay,” Rhett mumbled, taking the jacket from Link’s hands. Then, a bit louder, he added “thanks for finding it for me.” Without a glance towards Link, Rhett tucked the jacket under his desk on his lap. Link shot him a confused look.

“I didn’t-“ he began, but Rhett had already turned back to his other friends, resuming his elaboration of how he alone won the game the night before. Clearly the conversation with Link was over, no question, but Link was still left with a strange pit in his stomach. Had he done something wrong?

~ ~ ~

The rest of the school day passed without much incident, though Rhett did seem a bit more aloof than normal. At least, towards Link. Any time they did speak, generally because Link was trying to strike up a conversation, Rhett kept his answers brief and to the point, not wanting to say much of anything in response. Link chalked it up to being tired after staying up late last night, celebrating over team's victory, but as the day wore on he noticed that Rhett was only short with him and no one else. 

After school, as everyone was filling out towards the parking lot, Rhett and Link walked together as they always did. Link had his backpack over one shoulder and Rhett had his. Rhett also had his letter jacket tucked under one arm, while he continued to wear his hoodie. The red and white jacket looked almost dejected, folded up like that, and so did the guy holding it.

“Are you mad at me, or somethin’?” Link finally asked, not wanting for them to part before dealing with whatever problem there was between them.

“No,” Rhett scoffed. “Why would you think that?” 

“I dunno, you’ve barely said three words to be all day. I mean,” Link continued, waving his arms about. “What’s up?” He could tell that Rhett was fighting with himself before answering, and he almost wanted to take back his accusation, but after a full ten seconds Rhett just shrugged and said nothing at all. Link let it go; if Rhett didn’t want to talk about it Link didn’t want to force him. Still, as they neared Rhett’s car, and the point at which they would say goodbye drew near, Link felt he had to say something and he had something else very much on his mind.

“Trent told me he thought we were dating, you and I.” At the sound of these words Rhett slowed down a step or two before regaining his stride. He didn’t speak so Link took this as a sign to press on. “He said traditionally, football players give their girlfriends their letter jackets so…” He let the rest of the sentence fade off, concerned about what his friend was thinking about these facts, waiting for him to put in his two cents.

“I know the tradition,” Rhett admitted. “What did you tell him?” Straight to the point, a statement that gave nothing away about Rhett’s inner thoughts. Link decided to be equally blunt.

“I told him you aren’t a football player.” Rhett laughed out loud at that, a deep, rich laugh that filled Link with joy. He hadn’t heard it for the entire day and he never realized just how much he could miss it.

After reaching Rhett’s car, they both stopped and stood awkwardly beside it, shuffling their feet, looking at anything else but each other. Link bit his lip as he dug his toe against the pavement. Rhett hadn’t denied anything yet and for the life of him Link didn’t really want him to. He watched as Rhett’s hand took the handle of the driver’s side door, and suddenly he wanted to take a chance. This was his chance.

“I didn’t know…” he started. Rhett froze, not looking up at first and then forcing him to look as casual as possible. “Uh, I didn’t know if when you gave me your jacket... if it meant anything.” He held his breath, ready to laugh off this whole situation if Rhett told him it didn’t mean anything, if Rhett told him he had just given Link his jacket to be nice. He hoped Rhett hadn’t, and even now he couldn’t properly explain why. 

“It didn’t mean anything.” Link’s heart plummeted, but he held strong. Of course it didn’t mean anything. He was stupid to think Rhett would want it to, would mean it to. It was all just- “I mean, if _you_ don’t want it to.”

“Huh?”

“If you don’t want it to mean anything it doesn't. That’s all.” He shrugged, opening his car door and holding out the jacket to toss it inside. This was Link’s out. This was his opportunity to choose, but he wanted it all to be out in the open, no grey areas, just the truth.

“Why did you give me your jacket.” It wasn't a question, it was a demand. Link had to know what Rhett was thinking, what he wanted. He didn’t want them to miss what could be something wonderful.

“I was asking…” Rhett finally said, looking down at the jacket. “I guess I thought you said yes, but then you gave it back-”

“Well,” Link began, snatching the jacket from Rhett’s hands and putting it on. “I’m saying yes now.” Rhett’s eyes lit up, and his mouth hung open slightly for a moment or two before he could find his voice again.

“Really?”

“If you’re asking,” Link promised with a grin. The two of them chuckled, both blushing slightly. As their laughter trailed off, Rhett tugged on Link’s sleeve, noticing how long it was.

“Looks good on you,” he noted, looking pleased as punch. 

“Yeah?” Link shot him a crooked grin at the compliment, adjusting the jacket slightly. “Good, ‘cause I’m keeping it.” Rhett let go of Link’s sleeve, letting his fingers trace down the side of Link’s hand before pulling away. He was still scared, this was all still so new, and he didn’t know who could be watching. Then he got an idea.

“Hey, uh, my brother and I are going up North this weekend, staying in a friend’s cabin. You should come with us; you can wear the jacket,” Rhett suggested, rubbing his freshly shaved head. 

“Your brother won’t mind?”

“Nah. He’ll be bringing his girlfriend so he’ll be busy.” He waggled his eyebrows at the connotations. “I’m pretty sure they’ll pretty much just leave us alone to do… whatever.”

“Sounds fun,” Link agreed. He could think of a few things they could do to pass the time, given a lovely weekend away from prying eyes. 

“I’ll pick you tomorrow? ‘Bout ten?”

“I’ll be ready.” Link was already more than ready and his excitement was growing every moment. Patting Rhett’s arm he started to head off to his own car; he had to get home to pack. “See you later, Beau.” Rhett grinned at the nickname. He liked how it sounded.

“Later, Beau,” he returned, taking Link’s hand as it passed by. He held it just for a second before letting go. He wanted more, so much more, but not yet. Not here. “See you tomorrow.” For now, more would have to wait.

The End?


End file.
